Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand - Projects and Development

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http://www.business-standard.com/gen...&autono=101866

In Uttar Pradesh, the plant load factor of all the thermal power stations has increased to 63 per cent, in comparison with 49 per cent last year in August.

According to the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL), UP has also achieved high power production in comparison with the past several years.

The total generation of power on August 15 was 151.9 MwH, which is the highest in the state.

It was primarily due to increased production by the thermal and hydro powerhouses in the state and owing to revival in the operation of Nathpa Jhakri project that the state has achieved this.

Earlier, the state was facing a power crisis due the non-operation of the Nathpa Jhakri hydro power house, which had become non-functional because of silt deposits, and the closure of some central power units. This was despite the fact that the thermal and hydro powerhouses of the state were producing more power in comparison with last August.

The crisis, as stated by Power Corporation, was also a hot and prolonged summer because of less rainfall, as compared with last August; as a result, the state was facing an increased demand of electricity.

The daily power generation has increased by approximately 5.7 mega units due to the operation of two new units of the Vishnuprayag hydro powerhouse and other hydro powerhouses. In addition to it, Paricha thermal powerhouse with a capacity of 210 mega watt has supplemented the daily production of power to 3.1 mega units in comparison to last year.

According to UPPCL, there was a decrease in the power package of the state from the central power houses.

This is in order of a decrease of 5.8 mega units daily whereas the state should have got an additional 10 mega units daily from the center after the Rihand Heat powerhouse and Dholi Ganga Rroject became operational.

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Sahara projects dot Lucknow landscape

Lucknow city’s outward appearance is going through a transformation as the projects of Sahara Infrastructure and Housing (SIH) take shape, the recent Rs 100-crore project undertaken by SIH, called “Sahara Ganj”, being one.

The Sahara Ganj mall, spread over 425,000 square feet, is a five-floor building, with high-order security.

Sahara Infrastructure and Housing is bringing up a mega project called Sahara City Homes. Sahara City Homes is a chain of high-quality residential townships in 217 cities, in 21 states and two union territories.

The development of City Homes is divided into two phases. The first phase involves 102 cities including Lucknow, Guwahati, Patna, and Bangalore, while the second phase is in 115 cities.

“The A grade cites of Mumbai, Delhi, etc. are now saturated and it is now the chance of B and C grade cities to be part of the development process. Seeing this, Sahara is planning to develop the cities of Lucknow, Bhopal, Aligarh, Muaradabad, Kanpur, etc. under its City Homes plan,” Singh said, while talking to Business Standard.

Sahara City Homes in Lucknow is an integral part of this nationwide venture of SIH. Under the plan, in Lucknow an area of 200 acres has been acquired and is located on the Sitapur-Hardoi bypass, near the Indian Institute of Management.

In the recent past, SIH has successfully developed various townships in Lucknow. Among them the prominent is the Sahara Estate in Jankipuram, where SIH has built approximately 1,900 houses, of which 70 to 80 per cent have been acquired.

The construction of 425 premium apartments of Sahara Grace is in full swing. Sahara Shopping Centre was among the first commercial projects built by Sahara Infrastructure and Housing, thus beginning its foray into the field of real estate.

The future projects of Sahara Housing and Infrastructure include increasing its land acquisition to 60,000 acres in the country and the development of Hi-Tec city in Lucknow and Kanpur.

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All hail Her Majesty and the Prince!

Discovery park to come up at Amethi

India's first Discovery park, a state-of-the-art research and development centre, will be established in Amethi, the constituency of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

The Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Information Technology (RGIIT) campus at Tikarmafi in the district will house the Rs 100-crore park, spread over 60 acres of land and built with the assistance of the human resource development ministry.

RGIIT Director M D Tiwari said it would have 10 to 12 modern and well-equipped centres conducting inter-disciplinary research in areas like biotechnology, nanotechnology, micro-engineering and information technology.

[WillyWick]

Rane Madras to set up manufacturing facility in Uttaranchal

Rane Madras has decided to set up a manufacturing facility in the state of Uttaranchal, a tax incentive state, to supply stearing gears exclusively to Tata Motors (TML).

The company would set up the plant in TML`s vendor park at Uttaranchal.

The initial investment for the project is expected to be around Rs 93 Million for supplying 250 stearing gears per day to TML. The plant would enjoy certain tax benefits under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Rane Madras is a part of the Rs 12000 million Rane Group and manufactures crictical automotive components.

http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/new...secID=livenews

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http://www.business-standard.com/gen...&autono=103730

The UP government, in a highly profitable deal with the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC), will invest Rs 412 crore as share capital in an expansion project, where seven new hydro electric plants at Rs 5,497 crore are to be set up by the central PSU.

The seven new schemes under the expansion project are Vishnugaad-Pipalkoti - 440 Mw, Karmauli - 140 Mw, Jaad ganga - 50 Mw, Guhanataal - 60 Mw, Malari Jhelum - 55 Mw, Jhelum Tamak - 60 Mw and Bokang Beling - 330 Mw.

The total generation in seven new units will be 1,135 Mw and UP’s share will be 424.14 Mw. Thus by sharing a mere 7.5 per cent of the cost of the expansion project, UP will get 37.37 per cent of the total power generated.

The power tariff will range between Rs 1.05 per unit to Rs 2.46 per unit, which is far cheaper than the thermal power purchased from the NTPC by the state.

Of the total power generation in the expansion project, Uttaranchal will get 12 per cent free power as the plant is located in the hill state while rest of the 88 per cent will be divided between UP and the Centre on a 25:75 basis.

The total cost of the seven schemes is Rs 5,497 crore. Of this, 30 per cent will come from the share capital and rest 70 per cent from the FIs. UP will have to bear only 25 per cent of the 30 per cent share capital and the state will have no liability on the borrowings by the THDC from the FIs for arranging rest of the 70 per cent funds for the project. Thus the share of UP will be Rs 412.25 crore.

The Uttaranchal government has approved the seven schemes under THDC expansion project while the nod from the Centre is awaited.

The first stage of the THDC 1,000 Mw unit has been completed and is in the stage of commissioning. The work on the 1,000 Mw Tehri pump storage plant is also progressing. Work on the 400 Mw Koteshwar project is also on and is slated to be completed by the end of 2008.

UP government has released the money for share capital for Tehri Stage-I and Koteshwar project while the share capital for the Tehri Pump storage plant is to be released in current fiscal 06-07 and 2007-08.

“We need to enhance the total availability of power at affordable cost from all possible sources and we cannot remain dependent on the NTPC,” said Principal Secretary (Energy) Ashok Khurana, adding the “present generation capacity of UP is mere 3,877 Mw while the demand in next five years is expected to shoot beyond 12,000 Mw , so we need to increase in our participation in THDC for increasing overall availability of power at affordable cost.”

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http://www.business-standard.com/gen...&autono=103953

The World Bank has approved a $120 million loan for improved rural water supply and sanitation in Uttaranchal covering 1.2 million people.

The programme which will launched shortly in all the 13 districts of the state will seek to improve capacity buildings at the gram panchayat level and try to improve the drinking water supply. The gram panchayats are being made nodal agencies for the supply of drinking water in rural areas.

The Uttaranchal Swajal Director Ghambir Singh said the total cost of the programme was around Rs 1,500 crore out of which the World Bank would be funding 33 per cent. The rest of the amount would be jointly funded by the state government as well as the , he added.

Uttaranchal has prioritised rural water supply and sanitation as an important part of its development agenda and expects to achieve universal coverage of safe and potable water and sanitation by 2010.

“The World Bank’s arm, the International Development Association (IDA), made the 35 year loan which has 10 year grace period,” said Singh.

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Videocon to set up greenfield Uttaranchal unit

Videocon Electrolux will set up a greenfield facility in Uttaranchal to manufacture air-conditioners at an investment of Rs 150 crore.

Anirudh Dhoot, managing director, Videocon Industries-Electrolux, said the plant was expected to be ready by April 2007 so as to make available the product during the the summer.

He added the capacity would be upgraded later to include refrigerators and washing machines. The plant will come up under the Videocon Industries banner.

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Japanese Mitsui to invest in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow - In a major boost to the export potential of Uttar Pradesh, Japanese industrial major Mitsui proposes to set up a free trade warehousing zone in Greater Noida.

This was agreed upon at a high-level meeting here attended by the Japanese Ambassador Yasukumi Enoki and top representatives of the state government Friday. The state government has also agreed to allot 100 acres of land to the company.

Mitsui will be provided land at Greater Noida Phase-II,’ Atul Kumar Gupta told IANS Saturday. ‘It has been proposed to develop a big cluster of land at Greater Noida Phase-II exclusively for Japanese industrial units,’ he added.

Besides, Japanese auto majors like Honda and Yamaha are expected to expand their business activities in the state. Another Japanese company Sumitomo will also be given land in the same area.

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KEI Inds to raise $30-35 mln for Uttaranchal unit

Cables maker KEI Industries Ltd. plans to set up a factory in Uttaranchal and fund it partly by raising up to $35 million within two months, a senior official said.

The plant, which would cost a total of 2 billion rupees ($43 million), would start production by December 2007 and bring in annual revenue of about 7 billion rupees at full capacity, Executive Director Rajeev Gupta told Reuters on Wednesday.

"The unit will be set up in Uttaranchal as there is excise duty exemption for 10 years and income tax exemption for five years," he said.

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Escorts sets up Rs 25cr unit in Uttaranchal

Escorts is setting up a Rs 25 crore manufacturing facility at Integrated Industrial Estate, Pantnagar, Uttaranchal.

According to an official release issued by the company to the BSE today, it will manufacture auto components, railway equipment and add to its existing product portfolio.

The company will be availing several incentives like zero excise duty, central sales tax at 1% instead of 4%,and a 100% income tax holiday for first five years and 30% for next five years, at the new manufacturing facility in Pantnagar.

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Retail chains join hands with weavers in Varanasi

In a bid to boost textile clusters in the country, around eight retail chains and textile brands have decided to collaborate with a cluster of weavers in Varanasi to procure raw materials.

The retail chains which have decided to tie up with the weavers are Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Fab India, Calico, Advantage Shilpi and UP Exporters Association among others.

The collaboration between the Varanasi cluster, the biggest in the country with over 75,000 weavers, and the retail chains has been coordinated by Gandhinagar-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) under its Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Programme.

Under the arrangement, the retail chains have agreed to acquire a specific quantity of customised raw materials from the weavers on a regular and contractual basis, starting from this month. Fab India, on its part, has agreed to adopt 300 weavers from the cluster on a permanent basis.

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Sahara to build hospital in Lucknow

Sahara India Pariwar is entering the health care sector with its venture Sahara Hospital, which is coming up at Lucknow. Sahara Hospital is a venture of Sahara India Medical Institute Ltd.

The hospital is expected to start functioning from April next year. Sahara hospital has a technical collaboration with the Apollo Hospital Group, and has 350 beds (which can be increased to 500).

The construction is expected to cost Rs 250-300 crore. Spread on an area over 8 lakh sq ft, it has over 50 departments including advanced cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, neurology, neuro-surgery, advanced ophthalmology, IVF, nephrology, plastic surgery and cosmetology.

The hospital has 120 ICU beds including a dedicated organ transplant ICU and paediatric ICU.

“Networking of ambulances and mobile ICU with critical care equipment including air ambulance for emergency medical migration would be available for every corner of the city,” said HP Kumar, director (Medical Health), Sahara India Medical Institute Ltd.

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Parsvnath's residential project in New Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Parsvnath Pratibha

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HP inaugurates its manufacturing facility in Uttaranchal

Hewlett-Packard India today announced the launch of its second manufacturing facility in the country at Pantnagar, Uttaranchal. The plant was inaugurated by the Honorable Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, Shri Narayandatt Tiwari.

Setup with an investment of Rs.100 crore, the plant will have an initial capacity of 3,00,000 computers per month once it commences operations in March 2007. The facility will manufacture HP’s latest range of desktop computers, workstations, notebooks and servers.

The new manufacturing facility in Pantnagar, and the existing facility in Bangalore (Karnataka), will help HP in quickly addressing the growing demand for HP products across the country. The plant is also expected to provide employment (direct & indirect) to around 1,000 people in the region once fully operational

Speaking on the launch, Ravi Swaminathan, Vice President, Personal Systems Group, HP India said, “We would like to express our gratitude to the Government of Uttaranchal for their support. With strong infrastructure and favorable government policies, we see Uttaranchal emerging as a key manufacturing hub for the IT sector.”

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/ne...article/243643

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Yay....

Lucknow Zoological Gardens.

http://www.lucknowzoo.org/

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Omaxe to set up township in Pantnagar-Rudrapur

Omaxe Ltd, a Delhi-based construction company, is setting up a township at the Pantnagar-Rudrapur industrial area in the Kumaon region with an investment of Rs 500 crore.

The company has purchased 46 acres of land in the area to construct nearly 2,200 residential flats in the “Omaxe Riviera” township, according to marketing officials.

On the completion of the project, the company will provide 60 per cent of the flats for the managers and staff of the corporate houses, which are setting up shop in the Pantnagar industrial estate, which has attracted investments from top-notch companies like Dabur, Britannia, Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors.

Under an agreement with the State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttaranchal Ltd (SIDCUL), the company has set a quota of nearly 1,500 flats to be given to corporate houses. The rest would go to the general public, they said.

There will be nine categories of flats, which include 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom sets, some of which will have servant quarters also. The company was also giving some discount to corporate houses, the officials said.

In addition to the flats, the company would also set up a food fort, a multiplex, a commercial mall, a club and a local market. Two swimming pools are the added attraction of the township.

Nearly 375 companies are setting up new industrial units at the Pantnagar industrial estate. Initially the Pantnagar estate was being developed on 3,339 acres of land but now since Tata Motors has bought 1000 acres of land, the SIDCUL will expand the estate.

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Hero Honda lines up Rs 1,900 cr for Haridwar

The largest two-wheeler producer of the world, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, along with its ancillary companies, will invest Rs 1,900 crore in the next three-four years in setting up a manufacturing facility at Haridwar in Uttaranchal.

In the first phase of the investment, the company will fork out Rs 400 crore to make its motorcycle unit operational by June next year, with an initial annual capacity of 500,000 units.

The company will invest Rs 800 crore to expand the capacity of its upcoming plant, while the remaining Rs 1,100 crore will be pitched in by its ancillaries.

To make the supply chain stronger, Hero Corporate Services Ltd, a subsidiary of the Hero Group, will develop two industrial parks around the facility. The company has already acquired 250 acres of land for each park.

Arch rival Bajaj Auto has already announced plans to set up a manufacturing unit at Pantnagar in Uttaranchal, with an investment of Rs 1050 crore. TVS Motors is also setting up a plant in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

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Tanishq Dehradun unit to start by December

Tanishq’s new manufacturing unit in Dehradun is likely to be operational by December.

The company has set up the unit at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore to meet the requirements of the northern region, which contributes 40 per cent of the retail domestic sales of the firm.

At present, Tanishq has a manufacturing unit in Hosur, Tamil Nadu.

"Our new unit in Dehradun will be operational by December. Initially, it will produce jewellery worth Rs 8 crore per month. Also, we have invited vendors to set up shop there and we are expecting to produce jewellery worth Rs 25 crore per month in the long run," said C R Natarajan, vice-president (factory), Tanishq.

Tanishq will manufacture diamond and gold jewellery at the Dehradun unit.

Saying that the company would increase capacity according to demand, he added, “The investment seems small, but will increase in accordance with market requirements."

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Data base for Uttaranchal in the works

Leading Singapore-based IT solutions provider CrimsonLogic will design, develop and implement a Citizen Data Vault for Uttaranchal.

It would also develop a state-wide Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for the secure delivery of e-government services to Uttaranchal’s eight million people and its businesses, a monthly magazine of the state government reported.

This is being considered the largest IT project in Uttaranchal. The project comprises three components: a state-wide survey of Uttaranchal’s citizens through a Multipurpose Household Survey (MHS); establishment of the citizen data vault; and the distribution of PKI-enabled smart cards to the citizens for e-government services access online or via public kiosks.

The first phase of the MHS is already under way in two Nagar Palikas (small town municipal corporations), Rishikesh and Almora. The survey involves the recording of information like addresses, biometric data such as photographs and fingerprints. The information is uploaded onto the citizen data vault.

The Citizen Data Vault will serve as Uttaranchal’s data hub and store data of the local population. When implemented, the Citizen Data Vault is expected to reduce service processing and delivery time from months to a matter of days, say officials.

Electronic processing would significantly cut down paperwork and bureaucratic procedures, they added.

The final stage involves the issuance of PKI-enabled smart cards to a group of citizens to access government services either online or via public kiosks.

In time, the usability of these smart cards can be extended to all state application for tasks such as permits, tax payments and job registration. The project is expected to be completed by the next year.

Wow. Now this is what India needs.

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Agra`s SEZ for leather cleared

After almost a year of deliberations, the Union ministry for commerce has given its approval for the setting up of a special economic zone for leather and leather products in Agra.

To be established on the Agra-Delhi national highway on at least 100 hectares, the project will be designed and developed by Parshavnath Developers Ltd, for which the company has been given a year to submit its detailed project report (DPR).

This had started as a project for establishing a multi-product special economic zone in Agra.

Talking to Business Standard, Anil Verma, president, NCIC, UP, said the country’s 60-70 per cent of footwear export was from the small industrial units of Agra and the footwear industry of this town had been asking for a separate industrial area for the leather industry since a long time.

Later, the Omaxe group had given a proposal to develop the multi-product SEZ in Agra but the maximum industrial land that was available in Agra was barely over 500 hectares and that was not found sufficient.

He said the UP State Industrial Development Corporation could not make land available in the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) and it was unable to source any another piece of land for the SEZ.

As a result, he said the industrialists had to settle for an SEZ for only leather and leather products.

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City Homes work to commence in Lucknow from November

The construction work for the multi-crore project City Homes, undertaken by Sahara Infrastructure and Housing (SIH), will start next month in Lucknow including four other cities in the country.

City Homes is a chain of high-quality residential townships in 217 cities spread across 21 states and two union territories. The development of City Homes is divided into two phases.

The first phase involves 102 cities including Lucknow, Guwahati, Patna, Bangalore while the second phase comprises 115 cities.

SIH proposes to invest over Rs 21,273.11 crore in malls and multiplexes; Rs 14,627.08 crore in hotels; Rs 13,566.57 crore in schools; and Rs 13,087.8 crore in hospitals—all part of the mega townships.

The five towns where the construction will start are Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jhansi and Gwalior. These are the tows for which SIH has already acquired Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) certification.

Other cities under the project are following suit. By March next year, Uttar Pradesh would have seven cities including Lucknow to get EIA certification, explained Singh.

[WillyWick]

Leather SEZ in agra?????? Doesnt UP have any other place to setup a leather hub other than a popular tourism destination?

Meanwhile uttaranchal continues to kick ass

Leyland to set up Rs1,100 crore plant in Uttaranchal

Mumbai: Hinduja group company Ashok Leyland will set up a new production facility in Uttaranchal at an investment of around Rs1,100 crore. The commercial vehicles major have identified a 175-acre area in the Pantnagar area of the hill state for setting up the plant.

The company proposes to manufacture commercial vehicles at the plant but the actual rollout could take about 1-2 years, sources said.

The state government has cleared the proposal and will soon hand over land to the company. The state also offers excise and income tax breaks to investors.

This has also attracted other auto majors like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda who have set up bases in the state.

http://www.domain-b.com/companies/co...030_plant.html